Homa Bay Hypertension Patients Narrate Struggles They Are Facing in Accessing Medical Services
- There are over 1,300 hypertension patients on treatment in Homa Bay county, all of whom depend on services from only 3 health facilities
- Some of the patients lamented that they were being forced to use as much as KSh 1,000 every month for expenses to attend clinics
- One of the patients told TUKO.co.ke that he had to travel over 76 kilometres to get to a nearby health facility offering hypertension-clinic services
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Hypertension is one of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) that account for 39 per cent of deaths in Kenya annually, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Source: Original
In Homa Bay county, there are 1,394 hypertension patients currently receiving medical care from the three facilities supported by MSF. At the same time, a good number of locals who might be having the disease remain unaware as they have never been tested.
How Homa Bay woman discovered she had hypertension
Dora Anyango is one of the hypertension patients in the county currently under treatment. She recalled being admitted to the same hospital where her husband was receiving treatment for cancer.
"The year was 2019, and what I saw at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital was too heavy for me to carry. I got a headache which lasted for over eight hours and the doctors had to admit me into the female ward to attend to me," Anyango recalled.
It was after she was admitted that she was tested and found to be hypertensive. It has been over six years since then.
Initially, she opted to keep it a private affair and had to go to private hospitals for her clinics, which were too expensive.
It was only later on that Anyango said a friend enrolled her at Marindi health facility within Homa Bay Town sub-county, where the treatment and subsequent hypertension care are provided to her for free.
Later, the 62-year-old discovered she had high blood pressure and had to manage both conditions simultaneously.
"My children have been of great support throughout this journey since my husband passed away in March 2019. They always come through to remind me of my clinical appointments and lifestyle changes. This motivates so much," the mother of seven noted.
For her, the distance from Wiobiero, her home area, to Marindi where she gets medical services is barely six kilometres, way too close compared to 76 kilometres, the distance between Rachuonyo North and Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital, where Justus Okumba (not his real name), a hypertension patient has to travel every other month to seek medical attention.
According to Okumba, his condition became complicated in mid-2024, and he has since been forced to attend hypertension clinical checkups every month.
"I find it so hard to get KSh 1,000 every month for my fare to the facility where I get checked, 76 kilometres from where I live. I'm the breadwinner in my family of five, and there are activities I can't undertake due to my condition," he explained.
Despite the financial challenge that comes with his regular medical check-up worsened by the long distance he has to cover, Okumba has remained dedicated to attending his clinical appointments.
He believes his health depends entirely on himself, and he wants to embrace all advice from the medical team to lead a normal life.
Homa Bay facilities offering hypertension services
"Free NCD clinical services are only available in three health facilities in the entire Homa Bay county, that is, Marindi, Nyalkinyi, and Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital, all within one sub-county This makes our services reach only a few individuals, but there are medical issues in the rural areas," said Anne Brukhanoff, the project coordinator at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a medical organisation.
"Hypertension is manageable with earlier detection, proper treatment, and lifestyle changes. This is why we urge members of the community to do regular medical checkups in the nearest health facilities to detect any NCD at an early stage," she added.
Source: Original
Some of the Homa Bay locals who are still under treatment for high blood pressure and high blood sugar called on the county to allocate a budget towards addressing non-communicable diseases.
They said sufficient funding would see them go to clinics and get drugs free or at a subsidised fee.
MSF is a foreign organisation. If it decides to withdraw and return to its country, I will die because these medicines are expensive and hard to get. The county government should include us in their budget. We are its taxpayers, and if any of the NCD patients die, the tax will go down," TJ Mboya, a patient, noted.
On her part, NCD coordinator in Homa Bay Town sub-county, Caroline Aloo, expressed the need for all public health facilities to provide care for NCD patients from across the county.
She also encouraged public health authorities to use Social Health Authority (SHA) reimbursement to purchase drugs meant to manage non-communicable diseases.
“SHA reimbursement is enough to buy these drugs, and by so doing, our patients won't be travelling long distances to look for the services," Aloo noted.
Link between diabetes, kidney disease and high blood pressure
TUKO.co.ke previously reported that understanding the relationship between diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease was important to manage the conditions.
According to the head of the Nephrology and Kidney Transplant Unit at Nairobi West Hospital, Dr John Ngigi, diabetes can affect small blood vessels, cause high blood pressure and also lead to kidney disease.
A combination of the three diseases, Dr Ngigi noted, can create a harmful cycle.
Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Florence Owiti (freelance editor) Florence Owiti is a bold print journalist who covers current affairs topics including politics, climate change, courts and crime, devolution and governance. She has reported for TUKO.co.ke from mid-2022 from Homa Bay and neighbouring counties. She possesses a diploma in journalism and media pursued at Kenya Coast National Polytechnic. You can reach her at flowiti0098@gmail.com.
Joshua Cheloti (Editorial assistant) Joshua Cheloti is a multi-skilled journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. He holds a Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media and Communication at Mount Kenya University. At TUKO, he's an editorial assistant. Before TUKO, he worked at Nairobi Review as an editorial writer, at Hope Media (Hope TV and Hope FM) as a correspondent in Eldoret, Hivisasa.com digital content editor and online writer, at Biblia Husema Broadcasting (BHB), Eldoret as Radio Presenter. Email: Joshua.cheloti@tuko.co.ke
